Thursday, January 03, 2008


MacPhail Center for Music opens Saturday
The Jim Dayton-designed MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis opens Saturday with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting. While there aren't any architecture tours planned, visitors will be free to wander around the building and check things out for themselves. (Full schedule is here.) For about 75 years, MacPhail occupied a four-story, brick building in downtown Minneapolis. The school didn't have much in the way of performance space. It also lacked soundproof practice rooms and humidity control for sensitive instruments at its former location.

"You can walk around the old building at MacPhail and you’re not exactly sure what happens here. It does look a little bit like an old department store fallen on hard times," says David O'Fallon, MacPhail president.

In September, we interviewed Jim Dayton of James Dayton Design about the 55,000 square-foot building made of silvery zinc, glass and Cor-Ten steel.




You can listen to two versions of that story. The first one is the 5-minute radio story that includes a narrative and features comments from O'Fallon and Dayton. The longer story is a one-on-one interview with Dayton about his architectural influences (Frank Gehry, for one) and his philosophy. Both are embedded here for your listening convenience.


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For a print story on MacPhail, Mary Abbe of the Star Tribune published a story in this morning's paper.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, informative broadcast and interview...although this opening weekend was probably all about the music, perhaps MacPhail will invite Dayton to do an "architectural" tour
of the building...like the "Architecture Expeditions" that MHS and the Mill City Museum sponsored last summer and fall with architects
of the Mill City Museum, Open Book,
North Star Lofts, Gold Medal Park, etc.

MacPhail should also have either an audio or brochure tour available for all visitors to their building
perhaps using your broadcast and interview...these are the best information so far about the unique
and special features of the building.